KAMINSKY WAVES THE WHITE FLAG ON LONG ISLAND TAXES

If Guinness Book of World Records had an award for shocking political candor, it would go to Democratic Assembly candidate Todd Kaminsky, who was quoted this week breezily dismissing the skyrocketing tax burden crushing middle-class working families on Long Island’s south shore as “just a way of life.” (Five Towns Jewish Times, 6/20/14).

In the same breath, Kaminsky admits that if elected, he has no plans to curb the crisis of annually increasing tax levies chasing working families, young professionals, and retirees out of New York State and away from communities they love.

In an piece by Five Towns Jewish Times editor Larry Gordon, Kaminsky is described as “soft-spoken,” when he all but pledges to become yet another foot soldier in the Assembly Democratic majority’s decades-old War on Long Island’s Middle Class Taxpayers.

“Voters deserve much more than just another politician with the same old excuses to justify New York State’s broken tax policies,” says Republican and Conservative candidate Avi Fertig. “There’s a reason NY ranks literally first in the nation for taxing residents and businesses; taxpayers deserve more, and their representatives in Albany must do more.”

Citing examples of what he means by “more,” Fertig points first to the state’s 2% Property Tax Cap. ”I hear people bashing the Tax Cap as ‘too little, too late,’ says Fertig. “I firmly disagree. The Tax Cap draws a line in the sand to remind taxpayers that perpetually rising taxes are not ‘just a way of life.’ The Tax Cap empowers taxpayers to reject the abusive, tax-happy tendencies of our state government. If anything, the Tax Cap is a red flag taxpayers can wave in the face of officials who view Long Island’s working families as ATM machines that provide cover for short-sighted decisions.”

The Tax Cap is just “an innovative first step,” says Fertig. He points to the Education Investment Tax Credit, recently tossed to the curb by the Assembly Democratic Majority, though it would have allowed genuine tax relief for working families, and true choice when it comes to their children’s education.

“EITC is further proof that crushing taxes are far from “just a way of life,” he says. “This legislation is a proven winner that is already making a difference in other states. As assemblyman, I will do everything in my power to resurrect it.”

Other innovative tax cutting ideas Fertig supports and pledges to champion in the Assembly include limiting the number and cost of unfunded mandates; replacing the Triborough Amendment with a sustainable model that protects the short- and long-term interests of teachers and taxpayers alike; and fighting to modify existing formulas for distributing state school aid to a more equitable system than the current model, which favors New York City far above Long Island.

Finally, Fertig pledges to work with assembly colleagues on both sides of the aisle to create pro-business legislation that will create jobs and stimulate the local economy. “There is a 25-year tradition of bi-partisan leadership in the 20th Assembly District,” says Fertig. “You can be sure I will honor that tradition in every way I can.”

But, he adds, “Collaboration is only possible when the parties have an open mind to all possibilities; it won’t work when you waive the white flag of surrender from Day One.

“If my opponent believes that leadership means wallowing problems and conceding defeat, then that’s his choice,” says Fertig. “My choice is leadership based on lessons gained from past experience: Anything is possible when you stay focused on finding the solution.”

Avi Fertig is the Republican & Conservative parties candidate for the open 20th Assembly District which covers Atlantic Beach, East Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Lido Beach, Point Lookout, the Five Towns, Island Park, Bay Park, Oceanside, and portions of East Rockaway.

Kaminsky is not the right choice!!!..Wake up 20th Assembly District!!!
Taxes are too high!!
We need a candidate who does want to look out for the middle/ working class!!!
Too many families can’t afford to leave here anymore!
We must change that!!!

Rashi in Parashas Vayeitzei tells us that when a tzaddik dwells in a town, he is its glory, its beauty, its grandeur.

Naflah ateres rosheinu—the crown of our heads has fallen. One of the tzaddikim of the Five Towns/Far Rockaway community, Rav Ahron Brafman, zt’l, was definitely all of that and more. He was a tzaddik in every sense of the word.

The Five Towns/Far Rockaway community is a different place now that he has passed away. It is a community that was visibly changed by his presence here for close to five decades.

He was one of those rare individuals who combined profound erudition in his Torah knowledge, deep humility in his character and deportment, and a heart whose remarkable compassion for others knew no bounds.

Even as a young man, he had a warmth that was unbelievable. Reb Ahron would be welcoming to other young men—even as a student. Rav Yeruchem Olshin, shlita, one of the four roshei yeshiva of Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, fondly remembers Rav Ahron being mekarev him at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath:

At YFR Kinus Teshuvah: Michael Spiegel, host; Rabbi Yechiel Perr, rosh ha’yeshiva;and Rabbi Ahron Brafman, menahel“Rav Ahron was a special person. This is a tremendous loss. He had a ruach taharah. He was such a warm person. I was learning in a different yeshiva in Boro Park and that yeshiva unfortunately closed, so I transferred to yeshiva Torah Vodaath, and I knew no one. Rav Ahron befriended me and took good care of me. Over the years, I kept up with him. Rav Ahron was a tremendous talmid chacham with vast and broad yedios. He has a teyereh mishpacha. I was zocheh to be the shadchan of one of his daughters. I am close with his son and his other aidim (sons-in-law).”

Rabbi Yechiel Perr, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Derech Ayson–Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, spoke at the funeral in Eretz Yisrael. He spoke of Rabbi Brafman’s genuineness of character, saying that he had no airs and no “shtik.”

Menashe is a good and simple man. But even according to his fictional family members, while he might be a pious man, he is first and foremost a “schlemazal.”

The new film Menashe is showing in movie theaters in or near Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, as well as the Malverne Theater in nearby Malverne, New York, a short distance from the Five Towns.

The first matter of interest is why this film was made in the first place. It is certainly a fascinating look into an otherwise private and insulated community that does not necessarily appreciate having the light of day cast on the intimate details of its everyday routines.

Menashe is just an average chassidic man who lives simply, dresses in traditional chassidic garb (white shirt, black vest, etc.), and is dealing with everyday struggles that many people deal with regardless of how they identify in terms of religion or any other type of lifestyle affiliation. That he is a chassidic man is an eye-opener of sorts, as the suspicion might exist that worldly problems have not yet figured out a way to penetrate our community. They certainly have.

Menashe is a widower; his wife apparently passed away at a young age. They had one child who in the movie is now about ten years old. The child’s rebbe believes the boy should live with his wife’s brother and his family because of the more conventional family structure. Balance of this essay can be read at 5TJT.COM ... See MoreSee Less